And here it is, the 340SE2!!!

[davef]

Aside from the great people/customer service, great ethics, and awesome products, yet another reason to love Ascend - value for money.

Thank you so much for the nice comments!!! They are greatly appreciated

[ksr_sundar]

I agree with this... We should have priced these much higher. For example, our CMT-340SE2 easily compares with the Arendal 1723 THX. Spinorama rates the 1723 THX with a tonality rating of 5.1 while Spinorama rates our 340SE2 with a tonality rating of 5.5. While this difference is quite minor, the Arendal 1723 THX costs ~$2K for the pair and our 340SE2 is $798 for the pair. And our 340SE2 has about 2dB higher sensitivity while the 1723 THX has a bit deeper bass extension.

That stated, I just don't feel comfortable jacking up retail pricing just to get consumers to consider it who think retail price is a reflection of performance. That doesn't sit right with me, and never will.

Yes, this is much more valuable product, the price makes it icing on the cake. I introduced CMT to 3 or 4 of my friends, gave them some of my older pairs, no one wants to return them. That's why I had to purchase the SE2. It is that good, with a sub (rythmik) it can beat many expensive towers with the midrange tonality.

Subs also I tried a number of them SVS / Monoprice (THX certified). Rythmik makes a world of difference in intricate integration. The musical value of direct servo is evidently visible. It may be a few hundred bucks more than some of the lower priced competitors, but the value is gold standard.

[racrawford65]

Jeez, I may need to buy a pair of 340's just to check them out. Could always take them to my other house to use as mains instead of the HTM200's there currently. Would definitely improve the bass since I don't have a sub there yet.

[goldark]

I had a pair of original CMT 340 Classic LCR's (pre SE versions) and even those sound terrific with home theater. I gifted them to a friend who's enjoying them in his basement for streaming, TV, and video games. He couldn't be happier. Can't imagine how much of an improvement the SEv2's are. My current main system are Sierra LX's.

[solrage]

I agree with this... We should have priced these much higher. For example, our CMT-340SE2 easily compares with the Arendal 1723 THX. Spinorama rates the 1723 THX with a tonality rating of 5.1 while Spinorama rates our 340SE2 with a tonality rating of 5.5. While this difference is quite minor, the Arendal 1723 THX costs ~$2K for the pair and our 340SE2 is $798 for the pair. And our 340SE2 has about 2dB higher sensitivity while the 1723 THX has a bit deeper bass extension.

When I bought my Perlisten S7ts for mains and was looking for complimentary surrounds my first thought was the Perlisten R5m's. I'm sure they're great, but at $3k each they're outrageously expensive and the Spinorama measurements for them and the 340SE2s are nearly identical (the "with sub" score for both is 8.2). Even with my OCD screaming to get "matching" surrounds I just couldn't justify the price difference for no performance increase... and the 340SE2s are actually a touch more sensitive. Easily the best deal in audio right now.

[curtis]

Jeez, I may need to buy a pair of 340's just to check them out. Could always take them to my other house to use as mains instead of the HTM200's there currently. Would definitely improve the bass since I don't have a sub there yet.

I think you should!
The only issue may be they are much larger than the 200SE's.

[curtis]

I had a pair of original CMT 340 Classic LCR's (pre SE versions) and even those sound terrific with home theater. I gifted them to a friend who's enjoying them in his basement for streaming, TV, and video games. He couldn't be happier. Can't imagine how much of an improvement the SEv2's are. My current main system are Sierra LX's.

I also had the original 340's.
A friend and I took them to a local hi-fi shop to compare to $1k pair of speakers...I forget which. At the time the CMT-340 was (if I remember correctly...it was a while ago) $598 for a pair.
We set them up and started playing music. The couple of sales reps came walked into the room to listen. The owner of the shop came out of his office to listen because they sounded so good as well. Then they asked how much they were. When I told them $600...they were surprised and all walked away. The owner said "wow, they sound great. My only criticism is the highs, I wish they were a little smoother". This is before Ascend started their work with Seas.